


Come Swim with Me

by SollyinPurplePants



Category: TUGS (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Human AU, Merman/Human
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-18 20:09:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13688931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SollyinPurplePants/pseuds/SollyinPurplePants
Summary: Lillie's afternoon stroll goes awry when she finds a merman stranded on the beach. However, this find leads to an unusual friendship. And love.





	Come Swim with Me

**Author's Note:**

> This was based on a prompt from the tumblr blog otpprompts: http://otpprompts.tumblr.com/post/95856186615/imagine-person-b-lives-in-a-world-where-mermaids
> 
> I was going to make it a one shot, but there were so many ideas that I ended up making it multi chapter. Enjoy!
> 
> Here is a ref of merman Herc (sans tattoos): https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DWCRaHUW4AIclnW?format=jpg

It was a cloudy afternoon, and Lillie was taking a stroll at the beach. She was here for the summer with her family, as it always was. The beach home they were staying at was close to the seashore, allowing Lillie to go on daily strolls. However, her family was always fussing over her safety, saying something about how monsters lurked in these waters and dragged maidens down to a watery grave. She shrugged these off, assuming it was about unwanted suitors.

As she was walking along, Lillie noticed that a large fish was washed ashore near the tide pools. It looked like it must have been caught up in a storm or had died from age or illness, and so she dismissed it as normal. However, as she got closer, she gasped in shock. The large fish had a tail of a fish, but the upper portion of its body was that of a human male. And he looked like he was hurt.

Lillie wanted to go and help the creature into the water, figuring it was better for the creature to heal in the sea than to die on land. In a quiet voice, she said, "I'm not going to hurt you. I want to see what's wrong."

However, the creature had different ideas. As she inched closer, the creature stirred awake and froze before trying to scamper away. There was fear in his eyes, and the last thing he wanted was to be caught by a human.

“I'm not going to hurt you.” Lillie repeated, trying to inch closer. However, the situation worsened! She lost her footing and fell knees first onto some rocks. She groaned in pain and rolled back, and noticed some blood start to stain her skirt.

The blood on her scraped knee caused something in the creature to change, and he let out a low growl. Not caring about his own injuries, he crawled away from the ocean and towards Lillie, hunger controlling him. Lillie started inching back with fear in her eyes, praying that she would not be done for. She quickly got back up and started hurrying away, but the creature lunged forward!

Lillie was struck on the ankle and almost lost her footing. She paid attention to her wound for a moment before noticing a trail of red behind the creature. She then realized that the creature was bleeding, but it was too little, too late. Pushing him too far would be a bad move, but he was angry. "Please! I only want to help!" She shouted, hoping that it would cause the creature to calm.

The merman paused, as if he realized what he had done. He gave out a hiss and a small whimper before collapsing, the loss of blood having finally caught up to him. Lillie hurried over and checked the creature to see if he was going to die. With a frown, she made the difficult decision to take him home.

-

Several hours had past and the creature awoke to find himself in a bathtub. He tried to move, but groaned in pain with each shift. With a defeated groan, he settled down and gripped the rims of the tub. His attention soon turned to a stray bar of soap, and he gently picked it up. He was about to eat it when he noticed the doorknob start to move.

Lillie came in, clutching a small plate with eggs and bacon. She walked up to the bathtub and said, "I apologize, but this will do. My parents are out for the evening, so at least you're safe. For now."

The creature took the plate that was offered to him and started to sniff the eggs and bacon. Lillie frowned, as she wasn't sure what sort of food the creature ate. However, worry became relief when the he took a bite of the bacon and gave a content purr before diving in. The way he ate the eggs and bacon made Lillie wonder if he was undernourished in any way. She felt pity for him, and wanted to make sure he was comfortable. She hurried out of the bathroom to make seconds, just in case the creature demanded more.

The creature placed the plate down and started licking his fingers clean when Lillie returned. He looked more alert now, and readily took the second plate of food and consumed it in seconds. After a minute, he said in a quiet voice, "Thanks."

Lillie was surprised. Somehow the creature had a grasp on the English language! Not only that, it looked like the creature was fluent too. She gave a polite "you're welcome" and grabbed a stool to sit down.

The creature took a glance at the bandages on her ankle and said, "I apologize if I lashed out at you earlier m'dear. The smell of blood drives me mad. Usually it means food, but it gives me motivation to continue an attack."

Lillie was startled. "It was my fault, I stumbled on a rock." She said, now knowing that even a scrape would cause the creature to go berserk. If they wanted to make amends, she would have to be careful. Very careful.

The creature huffed and said, "We were both at fault then. Say, what's your name? Figure it would be good to ask, especially when it looks like I'm going to be here a while."

Lillie chuckled and said, "Lillie. You are very polite for a fish-"

"Merman." The creature corrected. "My name is Hercules." He placed the second plate down and offered a hand. Lillie was intrigued, but gently took it and shook it. As was human custom of course.

"I better get to bed, my parents should be home soon." Lillie said, taking the plates and getting up. "Night Hercules. Sleep tight."


End file.
